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Slovakia

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by Paul Bacsich and Nikki Cortoos for Re.ViCa. Minor update for VISCED by Nikki Cortoos

For entities in Slovakia see Category:Slovakia


Partners and Experts situated in Slovakia

None.


Slovakia in a nutshell

The Slovak Republic - short form: Slovakia; Slovak: Slovensko - long form Slovenská republika - is a landlocked country in Central Europe with an area of about 49,000 square kilometres (almost 19,000 square miles).

Source : http://www.cia.gov

It borders the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south.

It has a population of 5,483,088 (July 2011 estimate according to CIA World Factbook).

The largest city is its capital, Bratislava.

Slovakia is a member state of the European Union, NATO, UN, OECD, WTO, UNESCO and other international organizations.

Slovakia is a high-income advanced economy with the fastest growth rates in the EU and OECD. It joined the European Union in 2004 and joined the Eurozone on the 1st of January, 2009. The Slovak economy is considered a tiger economy, with the country dubbed the "Tatra Tiger". Slovakia transformed from a centrally planned economy to a market-driven economy. Major privatizations are nearly complete, the banking sector is almost completely in private hands, and foreign investment has risen.

Slovakia's has recently been characterized by sustained high economic growth. In 2006, Slovakia achieved the highest growth of GDP (8.9%) among the members of OECD. The annual GDP growth in 2007 was estimated at 10.4% with a record level of 14.3% reached in the fourth quarter.

Unemployment, peaking at 19.2% at the end of 1999, decreased to 7.51% in October 2008 according to the Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic. In addition to economic growth, migration of workers to other EU countries also contributed to this reduction. According to Eurostat, which uses a calculation method different from that of the Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic, the unemployment rate is still the second highest after Spain in the EU-15 group, at 9.9%.

Inflation dropped from an average annual rate of 12.0% in 2000 to just 3.3% in the election year 2002, but it rose again in 2003-2004 because of increases in taxes and regulated prices. It reached 3.7 % in 2005.


Demographics

The majority of the inhabitants of Slovakia are ethnically Slovak (85.8%). Hungarians are the largest ethnic minority (9.7%). Other ethnic groups, as of the 2001 census, include Roma with 1.7%, Ruthenians or Ukrainians with 1%, and other or unspecified, 1.8%. Unofficial estimates on the number of Roma population are much higher, around 9%.

The official state language is Slovak, a member of the Slavic Language Family, but Hungarian is also widely spoken in the south of the country and enjoys a co-official status in some municipalities; and many people also speak Czech.

The Slovak constitution guarantees freedom of religion. The majority of Slovak citizens (68.9%) identify themselves as Roman Catholics, although church attendance is much lower than this percentage. The second-largest group are people "without confession" (13%). About 6.93% indentify as Lutherans, 4.1% Greek Catholic (affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church), and 2.0% Calvinism. Other and non-registered churches account for 1.1% of the population and some 0.9% are Eastern Orthodox. About 2,300 Jews remain of the large estimated pre-WWII population of 90,000.


Politics

Slovakia is a parliamentary democratic republic with a multi-party system. The last parliamentary elections were held on June 17, 2006 and two rounds of presidential elections took place on April 3, 2004 and April 17, 2004.

The Slovak head of state is the president, elected by direct popular vote for a five-year term. Most executive power lies with the head of government, the prime minister, who is usually the leader of the winning party, but he/she needs to form a majority coalition in the parliament. The prime minister is appointed by the president. The remainder of the cabinet is appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister.

Slovakia's highest legislative body is the 150-seat unicameral National Council of the Slovak Republic (Národná rada Slovenskej republiky). Delegates are elected for a four-year term on the basis of proportional representation. Slovakia's highest judicial body is the Constitutional Court of Slovakia (Ústavný súd), which rules on constitutional issues. The 13 members of this court are appointed by the president from a slate of candidates nominated by parliament.


Regions

Slovakia is subdivided into 8 krajov (singular - kraj, usually translated as "region", but actual meaning is "county"), each of which is named after its principal city. Regions have enjoyed a certain degree of autonomy since 2002. Their self-governing bodies are referred to as Self-governing (or autonomous) Regions (sg. samosprávny kraj, pl. samosprávne kraje) or Upper-Tier Territorial Units (sg. vyšší územný celok, pl. vyššie územné celky, abbr. VÚC):

  1. Bratislava Region (Bratislavský kraj) (capital Bratislava)
  2. Trnava Region (Trnavský kraj) (capital Trnava)
  3. Trenčín Region (Trenčiansky kraj) (capital Trenčín)
  4. Nitra Region (Nitriansky kraj) (capital Nitra)
  5. Žilina Region (Žilinský kraj) (capital Žilina)
  6. Banská Bystrica Region (Banskobystrický kraj) (capital Banská Bystrica)
  7. Prešov Region (Prešovský kraj) (capital Prešov)
  8. Košice Region (Košický kraj) (capital Košice)

(the word kraj can be replaced by samosprávny kraj or by VÚC in each case)

The "kraje" are subdivided into many "okresy" (sg. okres, usually translated as districts). Slovakia currently has 79 districts.

In terms of economics and unemployment rate, the western regions are richer than eastern regions; however the relative difference is no bigger than in most EU countries having regional differences.


Education in Slovakia

The Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic is the central body of the state administration of the Slovak Republic for elementary, secondary and higher education, educational facilities, lifelong learning, science and for the state's support for sports and youth. According to the Act No. 245/2008 of Law Code the teaching in general secondary schools take place in agreement with the State educational programmes.

Education in Slovakia consists of a free education system based on 10 years of compulsory school attendance.

Most institiutons and especially universities are owned by the state, though since the 1990s there are also church-owned and private schools.

Copyright by Eurydice. Originally accessed on Eurypedia.

Pre-primary education is considered to be the first level of the education system and caters for children from 3 to 6 years of age.

Primary and lower secondary education is organised as a single structured system, beginning at the age of six and consisting of nine years.

The compulsory schooling takes ten years and pupils complete it by finishing the first year of upper secondary education at secondary school (gymnázium, stredná odborná škola, konzervatórium).

Higher education is provided at the three levels - Bachelor, Master and PhD study programmes – in autonomy of universities and higher education institutions.

Adult education includes the further professional education, the special-interest and civic education.

Sources:


Slovakia education policy

The main goal of the Strategy of Lifelong Learning and Lifelong Guidance of Slovak republic (passed by the Government of the Slovak republic in April 2007) is the completion of the system of lifelong learning and the system of lifelong guidance in such a way that the system would make the access to repeated and flexible obtaining of new qualifications for the citizens easier through good-quality education obtained apart from formal also in non-formal system of education and in the system of informal learning with the assistance of complex counselling and guidance services during the entire life of the man and hence to help people to sustain highest possible employment level as well as to increase the participation of the population in lifelong learning.

In a new governement manifesto approved by the National Council on 15 April 2012, special attention will go to enhancing citizens' digital competences in the area of lifelong learning.

Sources:

Download the Strategy of Lifelong Learning and Lifelong Guidance (DOC)


Schools in Slovakia

For a list of some schools in Slovakia see Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Schools_in_Slovakia

You can also find a list of schools on the Institute of Information and Prognoses of Education website or per region:


Further and Higher education

Vocational secondary schools may organise postsecondary study in educational programmes designed for those who have received in previous education the vocational secondary education completed with school-leaving examination or secondary general education completed with school-leaving examination.


(also sourced from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Slovakia)

The Slovak term "vysoká škola" ("school of higher education", literally "high school", compare the German name Hochschule), which for lack of other expressions is also translated into English as "college", can refer to all schools of higher (i.e tertiary) education, or in a narrower sense only to those schools of higher education that are not universities.

The first university on the territory of Slovakia was the Universitas Istropolitana (=Academia Istropolitana) founded in 1465. The main and largest current university in Slovakia is the Comenius University.

The 2002 Act on Schools of Higher Education dinstinguishes public, state, and private schools of higher education (colleges):

  • Public schools of higher education are the basic case. They are established by law. The vast majority of schools of higher education is of this type. They are financed by the government and possible business activities.
  • State institutions of higher education are all military, police and medical schools. They are established through the corresponding ministries of the government. They are financed by the government and possible business activities.
  • Private institutions of higher education are established and financed by non-government institutions, but approved by the Ministry of Education. This type of school is still quite rare.

Studies at the state and public universities is available free of charge for residents of Slovakia and of the EU. School fees are being planned, however. Other students have to pay from $2500 to $6500 for one academic year.

Before entering any school of higher education for which there are more applicants than places offered, the applicants have to pass entrance examinations. These examinations take very different forms at particular schools. The "maturita" results of the applicant are usually also taken into account when evaluating whether he can become student of the school. Since the number of branches of study and of schools of higher education increased considerably in the course of the late 1700s (although at the cost of quality of the studies), the general percentage of those not being accepted to these schools decreased considerably over the same time period. Also, an increasing number of Slovaks study abroad, especially in the Czech Republic due to a low language barrier, a slightly better economic situation (and job perspectives) in that country, as well as similarities of the two educational systems. As a result, the percentage of Slovaks with higher education has increased considerably over the last decade.


Universities in Slovakia

(Sourced from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_colleges_and_universities_in_Slovakia)

Public schools of higher education

  1. Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica - Univerzita Mateja Bela v Banskej Bystrici (http://www.umb.sk)
  2. Academy of Arts in Banská Bystrica - Akadémia umení v Banskej Bystrici (http://www.aku.sk) – an art school
  3. Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava - Slovenská technická univerzita v Bratislave (http://www.stuba.sk) – a school of technology
  4. Comenius University in Bratislava - Univerzita Komenského v Bratislave (http://www.uniba.sk) – the main university
  5. University of Economics in Bratislava - Ekonomická univerzita v Bratislave (http://www.euba.sk) - a school of economics and business studies
  6. Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava - Vysoká škola výtvarných umení (http://www.afad.sk) – a drawing and sculpturing school
  7. Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava - Vysoká škola múzických umení (http://www.vsmu.sk) – a theatre and music school
  8. Selye János University in Komárno - Selye János Egyetem; Univerzita J. Selyeho v Komárne (http://www.selyeuni.sk/) - the only Hungarian language school of higher education in Slovakia
  9. University of Veterinary Medicine in Košice - Univerzita veterinárneho lekárstva v Košiciach (http://www.uvm.sk)
  10. Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice - Univerzita Pavla Jozefa Šafárika v Košiciach (http://www.upjs.sk)
  11. Technical University of Košice - Technická univerzita v Košiciach (www.tuke.sk) – a school of technology
  12. University of Constantinus the Philosopher in Nitra - Univerzita Konštantína Filozofa v Nitre (http://www.ukf.sk)
  13. Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra - Slovenská poľnohospodárska univerzita v Nitre (http://www.uniag.sk) – a school of agriculture
  14. University of Prešov in Prešov - Prešovská univerzita v Prešove (http://www.unipo.sk)
  15. Catholic University in Ružomberok - Katolícka univerzita v Ružomberku (http://www.ku.sk)
  16. University of Trnava in Trnava - Trnavská univerzita v Trnave (http://www.truni.sk)
  17. University of St. Cyril and Methodius of Trnava - Univerzita sv. Cyrila a Metoda (http://www.ucm.sk)
  18. Alexander Dubček University of Trenčín in Trenčín - Trenčianska univerzita A. Dubčeka (http://www.tnuni.sk)
  19. University of Technology in Zvolen - Technická univerzita vo Zvolene (http://www.tuzvo.sk) - a school of forestry
  20. University of Žilina in Žilina - Žilinská univerzita v Žiline (http://www.utc.sk) – a school of transport studies


State schools of higher education

  1. Police Academy in Bratislava - Akadémia policajného zboru v Bratislave (http://apz.minv.sk) – a police academy
  2. Slovak Medical University in Bratislava - Slovenská zdravotnícka univerzita v Bratislave (http://www.szu.sk) – a medical # school
  3. General Milan Rastislav Štefánik Armed Forces Academy in Liptovský Mikuláš - Akadémia ozbrojených síl gen. M. R. Štefánika v # Liptovskom Mikuláši (http://aos.valm.sk/)


Polytechnics in Slovakia

Private schools of higher education

  1. Bratislava School of Law - Bratislavská vysoká škola práva
  2. Bratislava International School of Liberal Arts (BISLA) - Bratislavská medzinárodná škola liberálnych štúdií
  3. College of Public Administration Economics and Management - Vysoká škola ekonómie a manažmentu verejnej správy v Bratislave
  4. Dubnica Technology Institute in Dubnica nad Váhom - Dubnický technologický inštitút v Dubnici nad Váhom
  5. St. Elizabeth College of Health and Social Work in Bratislava, n. o. - Vysoká škola zdravotnícka a sociálnej práce sv. # Alžbety v Bratislave, n. o.
  6. Security Management College in Košice - Vysoká škola bezpečnostného manažérstva v Košiciach
  7. International Business College ISM Slovakia in Prešov - Vysoká škola medzinárodného podnikania ISM Slovakia v Prešove
  8. Central European College in Skalica - Stredoeurópska vysoká škola v Skalici
  9. College in Sládkovičovo – Vysoká škola v Sládkovičove
  10. College of Management in Trenčín - Vysoká škola manažmentu v Trenčíne – a subsidiary of the foreign City University


Education reform

Slovakia has been carrying out systematic changes in the area of education since 2008.

A resolution of the Government of the Slovak Republic No. 367/2008 dated June 4th, 2008 approved Modernization Program Slovensko 21 (Slovakia 21) (PDF). Some of the educational measures include:

  • Support of kindergarten upbringing and education
  • Scholarship for a secondary school education abroad
  • The measures focused on the improvement of reading and its comprehension, numerical literacy and knowledge of natural science of graduates from elementary and secondary schools
  • Accreditation of educational programmes of informal education and accreditation of results of informal and non-institutional education
    • Use of electronics at and informatization of education/schools, creation of innovative study materials and tools
    • Support of entrepreneurial skills development and learning of basic knowledge about entrepreneurial activities and economics at a secondary school level
    • Improvement of the employment rate through better interconnection between the education content and the labour market demands


The Slovak Methodology and Pedagogy Centre (MPC), the Institution for in Service Teachers’ Education and Training, is an organization set up for the provision and fulfilment of tasks within the area of continual education that reports directly to the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic. MPC takes active part in the process of educational transformation preparing educational programmes for pre-school, primary and secondary schools. An important part of this process is arrangements of conditions inevitable for professional performance of those who deliver education to teachers.

Source: Institution for in Service Teachers’ Education and Training website

Schools

Post-secondary

Higher education reform

The Bologna Process

Administration and finance

Schools

The Institute of Information and Prognoses of Education, the central information center for the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport, ensures operation of the state information system, a complex method of processing information from the field of education, care for youth and sport, including funding. It is the leading industry-based, methodical and comprehensive information of the Department of the Ministry, its automation and linking of information systems in Slovakia and abroad.

Source: http://www.uips.sk/o-nas/vsetko-o-nas

Post-secondary

Quality assurance, inspection and accreditation

The State School Inspection was established by law on 1 January 2000. Its inspection reports are publicly available at http://www.ssiba.sk/Default.aspx?text=g&id=3&lang=sk.

The [National Institute for Certified Educational Measurements] is a state budget organization with a legal personality, founded by the Ministry of Education of the Slovak Republic on 1st September 2008. Its mission is to provide external part and written form of internal part of school leaving examination assigned by the Ministry of Education, provide external testing of pupils at primary schools Testing 9, and prepare international measurements in accordance with programmes where the Slovak Republic participates according to their rules.


The Accreditation Commission

The Accreditation Commission was established by the government of the Slovak Republic in the year 1990 as its advisory body. The Commission is accountable for its activity to the government of the SR, to which it submits a report on its activity every two years.

Essential tasks of the Commission are to monitor and independently evaluate the quality of education, research, development, artistic and other creative activity of the universities. The Commission comprehensively reviews conditions under which these activities take place at individual universities. Based on independent evaluation, the Commission contributes to improving the efficiency and quality of the education provided at the universities and develops recommendations to improve the operation of the universities.

The Commission's activity is governed by applicable provisions of the Act on universities.


Source: Ministry's web page on the Commission


Schools

Post-secondary

Information society

A draft of the Information Society Strategy in the Slovak Republic can be downloaded from the Ministry's website: http://www.minedu.sk/index.php?lang=sk&rootId=1159


Teaching and Learning in Vocational and Technical Upper Secondary Education: the State educational programmes for vocational education are issued by the ministry of education after having discussed them with employers, founders of the schools and their professional and special-interest associations with nation-wide competence and with the ministries in the scope of their sector area of competence. In vocational secondary schools the language education and the scope of cross-sectional subjects – informatics, computer technology, ecology have been extended, and new subjects were introduced, such as management, marketing, enterprising, banking, law teaching, introduction to the world of work, and others. The development of educational programmes of vocational subjects falls within the competence of the State Vocational Education Institute.

Source: https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/fpfis/mwikis/eurydice/index.php/Slovakia:Teaching_and_Learning_in_Vocational_and_Technical_Upper_Secondary_Education

One of the medium-term measures of the Modernization Program Slovensko 21 (Slovakia 21) (PDF) included:

  • Use of electronics at and informatization of education/schools, creation of innovative study materials and tools

Objectives: to make more effective the education and to improve its quality, to increase the abilities of pupils, students and teachers to use information and communication technologies (IKT, informačno-komunikačné technológie) Process of approaching the objectives: The Slovak society including the educational system is noticeably falling behind as regards the use of information and communication technologies in comparison with the EU average. The extensive use of IKT contributes to the growth of labour productivity, competitive strength of the economy and finally to higher quality of life. The enhancement of computer literacy at schools will contribute to the adaptation of pupils and students to present world trends and better readiness to requirements of the employment market. The informatization of schools is closely interconnected with the complex reform in the area of curriculum and educational curriculum reform in progress, including the use of qualitative new forms of training and education, and innovative study material and tools enabled by IKT. Implementation bodies: Ministry of Education of the Slovak Republic, the Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic

Source: http://vedomostnaspolocnost.vlada.gov.sk/data/files/5601.pdf, Modernization Program Slovensko 21


ICT in education initiatives

E-Learning Helps Slovak Students Prepare for Eurozone Entry In 2008, secondary school students ages 14 to 19 could take an e-learning course about the new national currency and the basics of banking and finance, developed by the Slovak Republic's Ministry of Education in cooperation with Slovenska Sporitelna Bank and Cisco. It was the first online curriculum developed for secondary schools in Slovakia. More than 9,000 students from 240 schools have completed the course.

Source: E-Learning Helps Slovak Students Prepare for Eurozone Entry, Cisco, 2008, http://newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/2008/prod_120108b.html, accessed July 2012


Virtual initiatives in schools

Virtual initiatives in post-secondary education


Lessons learnt

General lessons

Notable practices

References

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For OER policies and projects in Slovakia see Slovakia/OER

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